Letter from Amos Perkins to Jacob Perkins, 1862 May 30
- Title:
- Letter from Amos Perkins to Jacob Perkins, 1862 May 30
- Creator:
- Perkins, Amos, 1790-1885
- Creator Role:
- Author
- Accession / Call Number:
- 2024.004 (m)
- Object ID:
- 2024.004 (m)
- Date:
- 1862/05/30
- Type of Material:
- textual record
- Physical Description:
- 1 letter
- Language:
- English
- Scope and Content:
- Unsigned letter from Amos Perkins in Unity, NH, to his brother Jacob Perkins in Brooklyn, NY, dated May 30, 1862. In the ten-page letter, Amos provides, in detail, his thoughts on President Lincoln, the Union government, and the ongoing war, responding to a letter sent by Jacob on May 8th that was delayed in delivery due to the use of a "secession" stamp. A Copperhead and supporter of "Popular Sovereignty," Amos writes that the southern states should continue to be allowed to enslave people and that the Lincoln administration is destroying the nation by abandoning the Constitution. He discusses disloyalty and secession from the War of 1812 to the Civil War, the number of slaves each state had in 1776, the slave trade, the admission of each state to the United States over time and whether they were free or slave states, and that the Constitution has protections for slavery. Throughout the letter he quotes many politicians from the period. He ends the letter by questioning what the freed slaves could possibly do, calling them "lazy" and that they will need "to be supported & provided for."
- Subjects:
- Correspondence, Politics and government, United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865, United States--History--War of 1812, Slavery, Antislavery movements, African Americans, Constitutions--United States, Copperhead movement
- Locations:
- Unity, NH
Brooklyn, NY - Terms of Use:
- For permission to reproduce or publish this item, please contact the New Hampshire Historical Society. Users are responsible for following all copyright and intellectual property laws.
- Credit Line:
- New Hampshire Historical Society purchase.
- Restrictions:
- Available for research.
- Level Description:
- Item
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